this has taken a lot longer than I expected, but I finally finished a set of hub adapters for a new-to-me road bike wheelset I got off eBay. I needed a new rear wheel for my commuter and wanted the same hub that I have on my mountainbike, a DTSwiss 350 - super reliable, easy to service, lasts forever. For less than a new rear hub I got a complete wheelset. The only downside was that they came with hub adapters for a through-axle frame and fork, whereas my bike is a quick release frameset. So, I made new adapters.
used a 18" or so long piece of 1 1/2" alu from my collection, doing all but the last adapter using a steady rest to minimise waste. Probably the most I've used the steady to be honest, but it worked well.
one of the rear adapters, with the o-ring groove cut
cutting the 1/2-20 threads for the front two piece axle
other half screws on nicely
all the internal (to the hub) machining is done, plus the left over piece of stock
the front axle pieces were finished in the 4 jaw and the rear pieces were mounted on a machined in place arbor. Made grip rings for each adapter out of stainless, using a dremel and pointed carbide burr in the tool post to cut the serrations. They're a bit $hitty if you look closely, but no one will see them when they're on the bike.
first time anodising, woohoo! I've had the gear for several years but never set it up as we were always about to move. No excuse now. Anodising tank is on the left, dye tank is on the right, both with bubble rings fed by an aquarium aerator. You can see the wheels in the background.
test piece, came out brown..
rear adapters also came out brown, but more bronze like. I've heard other people getting the same result with Rit black dye, so some black dye from Caswell is on the shopping list. Grip rings pressed on.
solving another problem. DT Swiss hubs come with alu freehubs that can get chewed up by the cassette. Given the torque my bike and my legs can put out I wanted to head this off.
Cut a 5/64 groove in the freehub using a 2fl then a ball end mill.
JB welded in a piece of 5/64 stainless wire (out of a broken toilet valve, of all things), then milled it flush and square. Made the tooth (spline?) 0.1mm wider than original so that it takes the brunt of the force from the cassette.
Also made a recess in the back of the cassette (11spd) so that it fits on the 10spd hub
Rear
Front
Spent a few hours tensioning and truing the wheels. The back wheel fit so well that I didn't even need to adjust the disk brake caliper, the front required a little fiddling. Went for a spin round the neighbourhood and it all feels nice'n'tight. We'll see how well they hold up over the coming miles.